For many years, my resolution has been to have no resolutions. That is, no half-baked self-improvement plans that will stress me out right up until the point, in early-to-mid January, when I will forget about them completely.
This year, I will make resolutions.
If only for the sake of change.
Of course, like everyone else, I will resolve to get to the gym more, to eat better and to spend less on superfluous stuff.
But I also resolve to ratchet up my patience and thicken my skin for my benefit and the benefit of those around me.
More importantly, I resolve to think more and speak less. (Don't worry, Andy, it won't affect my blog count.)
I will also resolve to get things done in 2011. In recent years, I've kept busy with a string of projects and I always fear that I won't have the time and energy to keep that up. But, I hereby resolve that by via the better eating and those gym visits mentioned above I won't be exhausted by 9 p.m. every day and I will boost my post 9 p.m. productivity.
That burst of late evening energy will certainly also allow me to resolve to read more books. Won't it?
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
